Email Dropbox

Checker Email Dropbox — External Contractor Photos in the Same Archive

Q: Do external contractors need ConPDS Checker?

No. Email Dropbox is designed for subcontractors, hauliers, repair vendors, and other third parties who typically do not install the ConPDS Checker mobile app. They email photos to a dedicated dropbox address with the container number in the subject line or message body — no portal login or app install is required. Tenants can optionally restrict submissions to approved senders. Internal staff continue using the Checker app as the primary capture workflow.

Q: Can contractors continue using email?

Yes. External contributors continue using email — attach photos or video clips and send to the dropbox address. Checker looks for the container number in the subject, then the message body, then attachment filenames; if none is found, the mail rule can trigger OCR of the photos as a last resort. The ISO 6346 check digit is verified before attachments are filed under the matching container. Filenames are stored as received.

Q: Which attachment types and sizes are supported?

Send photos as JPEG, PNG, or GIF attachments; MP4, MOV, and WebM video clips are also supported. Up to 25 attachments per message by default (configurable); message-size limits follow the mail provider — for example, about 25 MB for Microsoft 365. HEIC, PDF, and ZIP attachments are not processed. Incoming photos are scaled down to the same default resolution used by Checker mobile app captures.

Email Dropbox is the Checker extension for organisations that already capture internally through the mobile app but receive inspection photos from hauliers, subcontractors, and repair vendors by email. Messages are parsed, the ISO 6346 check digit is verified, and photos are filed under the matching container — retrievable with the same backoffice container-number search your team already uses. Available to all Checker tenants.

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ARCHITECTURE

Two Input Methods. One Inspection Platform.

Internal staff use the Checker app. External contributors email photos with the container number in the subject line. Both paths join the same ConPDS Checker archive.

Internal staff capture through the Checker app while external contractors email photos through Email Dropbox into the same ConPDS Checker container archive — Email Dropbox is not a separate inbox product — it is how external parties join the Checker tenant you already operate.

Operational context: If you are evaluating why contractor photos fragment across shared mailboxes before choosing a product path, read Managing Container Inspection Photos from External Contractors first. This page covers verified Email Dropbox implementation only.

How Email Dropbox Processes a Message

Contractors email photos to a tenant-configured dropbox address. Reliable filing works best when the container number appears somewhere in the email — subject, body, or photo filenames; if none is found, the mail rule can attempt OCR on the photos as a last resort. ConPDS handles parsing, validation, extraction, and filing.

Email in Contractor attaches photos and sends to the dropbox address

Detect number Subject first, then body, then filenames — OCR of photos as a last resort

Validate ISO 6346 Check digit verified on the parsed container number before filing

Extract files Image and video attachments pulled from the message, including multi-image sets

Archive Filed under the matching container, filenames stored as received

Requirements, Instructions, and Limitations

Forward this to hauliers, subcontractors, and repair vendors: Email inspection photos to [your dropbox address] with the full container number in the subject line. Attach all photos to one message when they belong to the same unit.

Sender requirements

Container number in subject Full 11-character ISO 6346 number — for example MSCU1234567. The message body and photo filenames also work; the subject is the most reliable.

Attach photos or video JPEG, PNG, or GIF photos and MP4, MOV, or WebM video clips. Up to 25 attachments per message by default; message size follows your mail provider (about 25 MB for Microsoft 365). HEIC, PDF, and ZIP are not processed.

No account required External contributors continue using email — no app install or portal login. Tenants can optionally restrict submissions to approved senders.

Known limitations

Invalid or missing container numbers are not silently filed — operators identify them via backoffice filter and search; there is no separate review queue

Filenames are stored as received — no automatic renaming is applied

Incoming photos are scaled down to the same default resolution used by Checker mobile app captures

Email-sourced photos may not carry the same device or GPS metadata as app captures

Availability follows the tenant's configurable mailbox poll interval — no fixed processing-time promise

Delivery delays, spam filtering, and sender authentication sit outside the Checker filing step

A tenant admin configures an active mailbox (Microsoft Graph or IMAP) and at least one mail rule that ingests images into Checker — see the Checker Help Center mail ingestion guide. The mail rule can send a confirmation email, or an email on warning or failure, so senders and operators know whether a submission was processed.

Filed and searchable in backoffice

After Email Dropbox processes a message, photos appear in the same container case your team already reviews and dispatches from.

ConPDS Checker web dashboard showing container search results with a full photo case ready for review and Send all distribution

Search by container number to retrieve email submissions alongside internal app captures — each email arrives as its own case under the matching container — and dispatch through your existing Checker integration rules.

Shared Inbox vs Email Dropbox

When a repair invoice or off-hire dispute arrives weeks later, the difference is whether external photos are already in the container case or still buried in email threads.

Without Email Dropbox

✗ External photos stay in shared or personal mailboxes

✗ Camera-generated filenames — IM20260713113116.jpg, IMG_4521.jpg

✗ Coordinators manually save, rename, and forward attachments

✗ Dispute retrieval means searching email threads, not container numbers

With Email Dropbox on Checker

✓ External contributors email as today — container number in the subject line

✓ Attachments auto-filed under validated ISO 6346 container number

✓ Full set searchable by container number in backoffice

✓ Same archive, retention, and dispatch path as Checker app captures

Customer evidence: SDT Marine & Cargo reports that ConPDS Checker eliminates hours of manual work sorting, organising, renaming, and saving inspection pictures. Email Dropbox applies the same container-linked filing model to photos received from external parties. Read the customer story →

Governance on the Same Platform

Email Dropbox intake inherits tenant retention, access, and distribution rules — not a shadow archive in someone's inbox.

Privacy-by-design EU-Hosted Role-Based Access Retention Policies ISO 6346 Validation

Frequently Asked Questions About Email Dropbox

Do external contractors need ConPDS Checker?▼

No. They email photos to the dropbox address with the container number in the subject line or message body — no portal login or app install. Tenants can optionally restrict submissions to approved senders. Your internal team continues using the Checker app as the primary capture workflow.

Can contractors continue using email?▼

Yes — that is the design. Attach photos or video clips and send to the dropbox address. Checker looks for the container number in the subject, then the body, then attachment filenames — with OCR of the photos as a last resort. Filenames are stored as received.

What happens if the container number is invalid?▼

ISO 6346 check-digit validation runs on parsed container numbers before filing. Invalid or missing numbers are not silently filed — operators identify them via the Checker backoffice filter and search, and the mail rule can send a confirmation email or an email on warning or failure.

What should contractors put in the subject line?▼

The full ISO 6346 container number — owner code, equipment category identifier, six-digit serial, and check digit (for example MSCU1234567). The subject line is the most reliable place; the tenant's mail rule can also read the body or attachment filenames.

Which attachment types and sizes are supported?▼

Photos as JPEG, PNG, or GIF; video clips as MP4, MOV, or WebM. Up to 25 attachments per message by default (configurable); message size follows your mail provider — about 25 MB for Microsoft 365. HEIC, PDF, and ZIP are not processed. Incoming photos are scaled to the Checker mobile app default resolution.

How quickly do photos become available?▼

Photos appear in the Checker backoffice after the mailbox poll processes the message; the poll interval is configurable per tenant. No manual inbox sorting is involved.

Can photos from multiple contractors end up under the same container?▼

Yes. Every submission with the same validated container number is filed under that container as its own case — one container-number search retrieves email submissions alongside internal app captures.

Start with ConPDS Checker — Add Email Dropbox When You Need It

Email Dropbox extends an active Checker tenant. Internal staff capture through the mobile app; external contributors email photos with the container number in the subject. Both paths produce one searchable container archive in backoffice.